The golfer is admittedly a hypersensitive creature, and many things goad him to fury which would seem harmless to the outer and uninitiated world. A very famous English judge once said to a young barrister, 'I am afraid I did many improper things when I was at the bar. In fact, I know I did,' and few of us who have played golf for any length of time can altogether acquit ourselves of breaches of the unwritten code of golfing manners. We have all said things to our opponents which would have incensed us if they had been said to us. The words have passed the barrier of our lips before we were aware of them. We have been very sorry afterwards, and then perhaps we have done the same thing again when the same act of circumstances have presented them-selves...

When all is said, golfing manners are good or bad much as are manners in general. We can all think of the perfect partner or adversary, the cheerful, unselfish fellow who wants to enjoy his game and wants to make everyone else enjoy it too, who wins without exultation or patronage, who loses without rancor. Some nameless quality shines out of him, so that it is a positive pleasure to see him play, where in a big match or a small...

There are golfers who will go to almost any trouble in order to avoid what they deem the indignity of being passed; they will run, they will pick up the ball, they will ruin their own pleasure in order, as it appears, to ruin that of somebody else. They will lose a ball, reluctantly signal to their pursuers to come through, and then, on finding the ball, dash forward again. That is unspeakable; once the signal has been given, it must be abided by, even though those who are coming through make the most deplorable bungle, as players anxious to pass invariably do.